Four people have been arrested over the death of a 29-year-old man whose body was discovered in a Liverpool hotel room.
Thomas Thompson was discovered by staff at the Manor Hotel, in Edge Lane, on Sunday at about 0900 BST.
A woman, 25, and a man, 19, are being held on suspicion of murder. A 50-year-old woman and a man aged 21 are suspected of assisting an offender.
All four were arrested in Mold, Flintshire, north Wales.
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Labels: Liverpool hotel room death prompts murder probe arrest
The investigation into the criminal case against leader of the "Orekhovo" gang Sergei Butorin and its active member Marat Polyansky has been completed, an official at the Investigation Committee (SK) told Itar-Tass.
"Investigators accuse Butorin of leading a criminal group including the "Orekhovo" gang, as well as the commission of 29 murders and three attempted murders. Marat Polyansky is accused of participation in the gang and the commission of four murders and one attempted murder as a member of this gang," the SK official said.
All the crimes were committed in 1994-1998. They include the high-profile murders of Alexander Salonik and Otari Kvantrishvili. "The accused partially admitted their guilt," the SK said.
Butorin and Polyansky were detained in Spain in February 2001. They were arrested and given jail terms for illegal possession of weapons.
After serving their sentences in Spain, the accused were extradited to Russia: Poyansky in 2009 and Butorin in 2010.
"The investigators have carried out much work. As of the time of completing the probe, the criminal case materials numbered 68 volumes," according to the SK official.
The Orekhovo gang began to operate in Moscow from the beginning of 1994. It was led by Sergei Butorin and Dmitry Belkin from March 1996.
In this period the gang merged with the so-called Medvedkovo gang. The investigators said Orekhovo gangsters had committed murders and attempted murders in Moscow, Moscow and Vladimir Regions, Greece, and Ukraine. Among the high-profile crimes are the murders of the chief of the Athletes Social Protection Foundation Otari Kvantrishvili and the murder in Greece of a notorious mobster Alexander Salonik and his girlfriend Svetlana Kotova.
Posted by Marbella Times at 11:56 0 comments
Labels: Case against gangster accused of 29 murders to go on trial
Victorville Superior Court Judge John Tomberlin ruled after a preliminary hearing Wednesday morning there was enough evidence to hold Sammy Conrad Mendez, 23, for trial.
San Bernardino County Sheriff's Deputy Pedro Ortiz testified that he interviewed the victim, Samantha Sanchez, on March 28 at Victor Valley Community Hospital, where she showed up with about 13 stabbing wounds throughout her body.
Sanchez told Ortiz she met up with the defendant and his brother, Andrew Steven Mendez, at a liquor store. They drove to a desert field near Verde and B streets in Victorville and smoked methamphetamine in the car, according to Ortiz. Andrew Mendez then started attacking Sanchez, Ortiz said.
“This is for our brother,” one of the Mendez brothers told her during the attack, according to Ortiz’s testimony.
Sanchez said they were retaliating against her for talking to investigators about being robbed by their brother, Vincent Cordova Mendez, Ortiz testified. Vincent Mendez, 20, was sentenced to two years in prison after he pleaded guilty in November to the robbery, according to court records
Video footage of Vaclav Klaus, president of the Czech Republic, sneakily pocketing a ceremonial pen at an official do in Chile has gone viral, and a Facebook group set up urging people to send him stationery.
Posted by Marbella Times at 11:23 0 comments
Labels: president of the Czech Republic, sneakily pocketing a ceremonial pen, Video footage of Vaclav Klaus
Lee Brown, 39, of east London, was held at the luxury Burj Al Arab hotel after being accused of physically and verbally abusing a female staff member.
The UK has called for an inquiry amid reports he was assaulted by officers.
But the claim was denied by an unnamed police official quoted by local media and Dubai's attorney general said the force followed the "highest standards".
Dubai attorney general Issam Al Humaidan said a post-mortem examination concluded Mr Brown's death was caused by suffocation after vomit leaked into his respiratory tract.
In a statement he expressed condolences to Mr Brown's family and said that police in the Gulf emirate dealt with prisoners with respect and were "governed by the highest standards to preserve human rights".
Dubai touts itself as one of the most glamorous holiday destinations in the world.
Most tourists return from their relaxing beach holidays without incident but some have found themselves on the wrong side of the law.
Bur Dubai police station, where Lee Brown is reported to have died, is one of the main police stations.
People I have met who have been inside say it is overcrowded and dirty. There are not enough beds for all the people who are being held.
While local newspapers are reporting that he choked on his own vomit, British reports are blaming his death on violence at the hands of Dubai's police. But establishing more detail will be hard.
Dubai is not a place where local authorities like to talk and that does not sit well with British media who want answers now.
According to reports in a number of UK newspapers, Mr Brown was arrested on 6 April while on a last-minute holiday.
He is said to have been taken to a Bur Dubai police station where he was allegedly assaulted and then left in a cell.
The Foreign Office said officials had been in contact with Mr Brown's family and were providing consular assistance.
It added that officials in Dubai spoke to Mr Brown after his arrest and had made arrangements to see him on 13 April.
A spokesperson said: "We can confirm Lee Brown's death on 12 April while in police custody. Our thoughts are with Mr Brown's family at this very difficult time.
"The Consul General has spoken directly to the Dubai police at the highest level on a number of times to stress the importance of a full investigation.
"The police have assured us that they are investigating and we are remaining in close touch with them."
The Foreign Office added that a "number of requests" had been made on behalf of four other Britons at the police station and UK officials visited them on 14 April and would be contacting their families.
According to the London-based Detained In Dubai support group Mr Brown's family contacted the British Embassy in Dubai with their concerns about his safety.
UK officials then visited the police station where he was being held before his death but were told he did not want to meet them, the group said.
A report in the National newspaper in neighbouring Abu Dhabi quoted the police official saying that Mr Brown had no bruises or marks indicating an assault.
The official told the paper Mr Brown began vomiting the day before his death but did not complain or ask for medical help.
In a statement, Jumeirah Group, the owners of the Burj Al Arab hotel where Lee Brown was reportedly staying, said: "We are aware of this issue and understand it is being handled by the relevant authorities.
"We therefore have no further comment. For privacy reasons, it is our policy not to disclose any details or information about guests who stay in our hotels."
Posted by Marbella Times at 11:15 0 comments
Labels: British tourist died in police custody in Dubai after choking on his own vomit, officials have said.
Fife woman has appeared in court charged with attempting to smuggle cocaine with an estimated street value of £40,000 into the UK.
Catherine Gibson, 57, of Glenrothes, was arrested after arriving into London City Airport from Amsterdam on Sunday.
She was charged with attempting to import the drug and appeared before Crawley Magistrates in West Sussex.
She was remanded in custody to appear before magistrates in Haywards Heath on 20 April.
About 1kg (2.2lb) of cocaine was found in wrapped packages inside a suitcase.
UK Border Agency officials said she had previously flown to Holland from Argentina.
Posted by Marbella Times at 09:17 0 comments
Labels: 57, Catherine Gibson, of Glenrothes, was arrested after arriving into London City Airport from Amsterdam on Sunday.
